PRESS RELEASE - MIKE ALLRED AND THE GEAR END MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS THIS AUGUST!
Mike Allred ends his acclaimed series with big bang and a musical epilogue!


19 February 2009 (Berkeley, CA) - MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS comes to an end this August as creator Mike Allred wraps up an entire series' worth of stories in a final blockbuster issue and his new album, THE GEAR: LEFT OF CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, both featuring the return of characters from his highly praised hit RED ROCKET 7.


"MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS marks the end of an era, but definitely not the end of MADMAN at Image," Allred said. "MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS was a really fun time for me, Laura, Madman and friends. Working at Image gave us an unprecedented freedom with the book, allowing us to experiment like never before! I hope fans have enjoyed the trip thus far and will be back with us on the next leg once we get to it!"


MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #17 wraps a nearly two year run for the series, the longest for Allred and MADMAN in terms of consecutive issues, seeing his beloved superhero series finish off stories in the making since its inception as well as experiment in ways it never has before. Allred's run produced some of the most acclaimed issues of his career, including his tribute to the entire history of comics wherein each panel featured a different style of a famous creator. The final issue will also tie in his RED ROCKET 7 series in continuity for the very first time, leading in to his second, long-awaited album, THE GEAR: LEFT OF CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.


THE GEAR: LEFT CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE amps up the psychedelic space rock influences hinted at on the first album and features special guest musicians including The Dandy Warhol's Courtney Taylor-Taylor. Furthermore, August's release is a limited edition Direct Market exclusive released well in advance of the mainstream edition and will include tracks not available anywhere else, including iTunes. MADMAN will return in a different form at Image Comics to be announced at a later date.


MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #17, a 32-page full color comic book for $3.50, will be in stores August 19th, 2009. THE GEAR: LEFT OF CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, a full-length audio CD for $12.99 with a signed edition available for $24.99, will be in stores August 12th, 2009. The RED ROCKET 7 collection (paperback -JUL082187, hardcover - JUL082188), a 209-page full color paperback for $16.99 and hardcover for $49.99, is available now.


Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently five partners in Image Comics (Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor, and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.